The Best And Worst Sequels Of 2013

I’m on record as being relatively ambivalent when it comes to an opinion on the virtues of remakes, sequels and reboots. Simply put, any story, whether it’s a retelling or continuation of an old story, or one that’s entirely “new” (if there is such a thing), is dependent on the people telling it more than where it’s drawn from. For every person who can claim that the second movie in a series is always the best (like The Empire Strikes Back), another can claim that movies should usually be left as standalone successes (like Jaws or Psycho). This past movie year offered plenty of examples of franchises (to use the term relatively loosely) that saw their story strengthened, broadened and sometimes explored more deeply through their continuation. Others were perhaps failed attempts to make lightning strike twice, but I find it weird to begrudge their undertaking. From a business angle, it seems to make sense. Even from a storytelling angle, most beloved stories from recent years have consisted of fairly old storytelling templates and tropes, as the mind seems to have an affinity for a mixture of old and new ideas. Call it a sense of the familiar to accompany what could otherwise be too newfangled to grasp. To illustrate this point, here are 5 sequels from the past year that succeeded marvelously, and 5 that fell a little flat. I don’t want to create the impression that the field was entirely even, but if this were baseball, 2013’s sequels would have a perfectly respectable average. Continue reading on the next page... The Good: 1) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire One thing its fans and detractors seemed to almost universally agree upon regarding The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was that it had improved on its predecessor. Some of us who marveled at the quality of the first movie were less impressed by this sequel, but nevertheless, it turned out to be either a pleasant surprise or a relief to anyone worried about a new director and a larger scope in this story’s continuation. In my viewing, this second film took some of the greatest strengths of the first movie and gave them more screen time and greater depth. These included Woody Harrelson as Haymitch and Elizabeth Banks as Effie, the latter of which really standing out in scenes where her overly chipper façade could not help but slip ever so slightly in the midst of horrifying actions taken by the Capitol. The area where Catching Fire may have exceeded The Hunger Games the most is in that closing shot of Katniss, at first confused and heartbroken at the surprising outcomes of the games, but quickly turning to anger and vengeful determination, making the final two films feel like far too long a wait. A fire has been lit, indeed. Continue reading on the next page... 2) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug This is arguably the largest upgrade for any movie franchise in 2013, and not only does it all but eliminate the snooze factor that plagued An Unexpected Journey, but The Desolation of Smaug features possibly the best action sequence of the year: the river barrel scene. Let’s start by talking about that sequence a little bit. At last, it seemed, the number of dwarves to keep track of in this story was used to an exciting effect rather than a dulling one. Yes, they make a sizeable singing ensemble, but watching them eat and do dishes is too reminiscent of excruciating Thanksgiving dinners past. Having them hurling down a river, escaping their elvish quarters and running into an attack by their Orc pursuers, is in itself a recipe for delight. The execution, though, is perfection—it ends up being a weird mishmash of the Ewok battle in Return of the Jedi with the single shot sequence of The Avengers, a feast for slapstick action and sight gag lovers. Lovers of the book, of course, may not be as enthused by the deviations from the text, but from the involvement of the elves to the interaction with Smaug the dragon, all the way to the introduction of the people of the Lake-town, there is a sense that pieces are being moved into position, but their placement is far more enjoyable to watch this time around. For more on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, check out our coverage of the film's world premiere below. Continue reading on the next page... 3) Thor: The Dark World The Thor character was already somewhat redeemed by The Avengers (not everyone seemed as bewildered and annoyed by the first Thor movie as I was; it’s my Green Lantern), but what Alan Taylor was able to do with this Asgardian space opera saga is nothing short of remarkable. I credit him for the improvement in Thor: The Dark World because he is one important distinguishing change that was made, because he has done excellent episodic work on Game of Thrones (I wonder if more franchises will turn to TV directors, who are used to working with episodic storytelling?), and most importantly, because I choose to believe it. In terms of the cosmic story that sets the action in motion in this movie, I barely understood it any more than I did in the first one. There’s some weird thing called Aether and an evil looking elf alien guy and a portal on Earth that kids like to play in. None of that mattered when Loki showed up though, because the team behind this new movie realized—so much so that they reportedly reshot scenes so he had more screen time—that Loki is the best part of Thor. You have Chris Hemsworth being his usual meathead self, Natalie Portman collecting a paycheck, and others who seem equally disinterested, but Tom Hiddleston brings it, as does, surprisingly, Rene Russo. Continue reading on the next page... 4) Iron Man 3 Whether Iron Man 3 surpassed 2008’s Iron Man in terms of quality is up for debate. Most seem to agree that the ugly stepchild of this franchise was the second installment, a forgettable rehashing of generic superhero storylines that squandered the unique character established by Jon Favreau’s first collaboration with Robert Downey Jr. Despite being released all the way back in May (and who the hell remembers anything more than a month ago, am I right??), Iron Man 3 contained several moments that remain memorable at the end of the year. The climactic sequence was not one of them, mind you. The reveal of the Mandarin’s true identity, however, was one of the most surprising and satisfying setups of movie audiences in all of 2013. The scenes involving Tony Stark trudging in the snow and his new young friend Harley possess the best moments though, with Tony being Tony to the end. Continue reading on the next page... 5) Before Midnight It has made a number of year-end lists and taken home plenty of awards already, particularly for its screenplay, but it ought to be noted that Before Midnight is the third episode of a kind of indie franchise, one of the most celebrated of all time, in fact. Writers Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have now set an expectation that the relationship between Jesse and Celine, which began back in 1995 with Before Sunrise, will be worth revisiting every 9 years, with the new film following 2004’s Before Sunset. That these collaborating filmmakers, with Linklater at the helm, can continue to create an entire movie essentially around watching people converse is as incredible a feat as it was 18 years ago. These are artists who know their characters inside and out, and use the reality in which they’re grounded to stage heartwrenchingly authentic scenes that expose a plethora of relational truths. Another movie that followed this 9-year break method was Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which has divided critics and audiences. I, however, would maintain it is a worthy torchbearer of an original movie that was so strange that few people found it funny the first time around back in 2004. Fast & Furious 6 is another example of an episodic movie hit, with some hailing it as a franchise understanding its strengths and firing on all cylinders at last. Alas, as much as it is worth rooting for them to succeed, some of this year’s sequels and threequels and septequels were not as fun to sit through. Continue reading on the next page... The Bad: 1) Kick-Ass 2 There were a number of titles that didn’t quite measure up to their previous efforts. Kick-Ass was a divisive movie, but Kick-Ass 2 seemed to unite everyone in recognizing that it kind of sucked. Maybe we all underestimated how crucial Nicolas Cage was to the tone of the first film. Maybe Matthew Vaughn directed the hell out of that first movie, and went on to direct the hell out of X-Men: First Class, and newcomer Jeff Wadlow wasn’t up to the task. Who knows? Defining marks of the first Kick-Ass that I appreciated included its ironic detachment, exemplified by the weird style of the aforementioned Nicolas Cage part, its awareness of the absurdity of its hyperviolent fights, and its nods to stylistic forebearers like Pulp Fiction. Kick-Ass 2 was not humorless, but its application of its humor seemed misplaced and less effective. Jim Carrey had little to do despite putting a rather remarkable stamp on his character. The film also seems to want to explore Hit-Girl a bit more, but only does so in superficial ways. Here’s hoping it’s the Iron Man 2 of the franchise, and the next film, if it gets made, rights the ship. This one was sparingly entertaining, at least, which makes it far better than the next entry on this list. Continue reading on the next page... 2) A Good Day to Die Hard No one seems less into A Good Day to Die Hard than Bruce Willis. Credit to the guy: even in his press appearances leading up to the movie, he seemed as though he was telekinetically preparing us for a stinker of a film. He tried to warn us, and we didn’t listen, those of us who actually saw it (to all those who didn’t see it—kudos). I can’t quite relate to those who consider the very first Die Hard movie to be a kind of pop masterpiece, although compared to this movie, the 1988 film is unequivocally sublime. In this instalment, you have your standard aged hero’s son plot, a John McClane who has gone from semi-realistic standby cop to full-out Robocop, and bland action that mostly consists of guns missing their targets. I was almost ready to dismiss any other work Jai Courtney ever did, but then I saw Felony and saw that he actually has acting skills. And Bruce Willis got paid, so whatevs. Continue reading on the next page... 3) Star Trek Into Darkness There’s a contingent of movie people who found the follow-up to 2009’s Star Trek to be downright bad. I’m not one of those people, but it’s hard to deny that Star Trek Into Darkness lacks a few things the original reboot had going for it. I actually mildly enjoyed J.J. Abrams’ second instalment in the series, with its genuinely strong action sequences, development of the friendship between Spock and Kirk, and a reasonably engaging use of 3D. I share the feelings of those who found the reveal of Benedict Cumberbatch’s oh so mysterious character to be severely anticlimactic, which Abrams himself has since admitted may have been a mistake in its execution. But in addition to the dullness of this revelation, I found the inclusion of Cumberbatch and his performance to be disappointingly lackluster. Standard villainous characters are so 1990. Continue reading on the next page... 4) Despicable Me 2 Call it minion fatigue, or a sequel reduced to repetition and conventionality, but something about Despicable Me 2 fell completely flat for me. It may be because I saw it after Halloween, when everyone and their cat had dressed up as a minion. It could also be because the first one was such a surprise to me in its shrewd take on the stock villain caricature that was impossible to repeat. I try to avoid thinking that any movie inherently must be a one-off standalone feature, but it’s awfully tempting with this one. To call Despicable Me 2 a disservice to its brand would likely be false, as audiences seemed to enjoy it and it has made almost a billion dollars worldwide. The animation and visual gags are still fun to watch and the minions are fun just to look at, within reason. It’s clear, though, from the upcoming spinoff film due out in 2015 titled Minions, that Gru’s henchmen are the real focus of the team behind the Despicable Me franchise. Continue reading on the next page... 5) The Hangover Part III and more There were actually quite a few sequel duds this year, though I’m not sure if anyone actually expected them to be anything but duds. The Hangover was a surprising success 4 years ago, but its subsequent followups were rather poor by comparison (and I wasn’t even a big fan of the first one). The good news is that its stars all gained higher profiles and have done exceptional work since their breakthrough back in 2009. Other sequels from this year that I didn’t watch because I heard they were so bad: The Smurfs 2, Insidious Chapter 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Monsters University (this one may not have been bad but nah), Red 2, and whatever number Scary Movie is at now. It’s understandable to assume that anything with a “2” in the title is a cynical attempt by some movie studio to capitalize on the success of a previous movie by making audiences think they’ll be getting the same product if they pay to see the new one. This is often the case. My wish is merely that franchises themselves are treated on an individual basis based on the quality of the filmmakers and finished products themselves, because dismissing good movies based on a prejudice like sequelphobia is a tad narrow-minded.